| In place of the familiar approach of examining sexual deviance through sex offender populations, this study targeted a non-sex offender population (i.e., college students). A new scale named the Sexual Deviance Inventory (SDI) was designed to measure a person's overall proclivity toward inappropriate or "deviant" sexual interests. Instead of finding that sexual deviance was statistically deviant, the SDI detected that the experience of sexual deviance was a relatively normal experience within this non-sex offender population as 90% of the 353 online survey participants reported having had experienced at least 1 of the 24 deviant sexual interests listed in the SDI and, on average, participants endorsed having had experienced 5 (or 22%) of the 24 deviant sexual interests listed in the survey. A social learning theory (SLT) model comprised of several SLT measures created specifically for this study accounted for the 53% of the variance in the SDI scores, R 2 = .53, F (6, 240) = 44.20, p < .0005. This SLT model did a better job predicting SDI scores than sexual deviance measures that assessed only specific categories of interests (i.e., the SICSQ-R subscales). The SLT model only accounted for between 5% and 34% of the variances within the subscales. The SLT model also did a better job predicting SDI scores than a measure that assessed a combination of sexual interests restricted to the most extreme deviant sexual interests (i.e., the SICSQ-R). The SLT model only accounted for 38% of the variance for the SICSQ-R (males only), R2 = .38, F (6, 33) = p = .011 versus 49% of the SDI (males only), R2 = .49, F (6, 35) = p < .0005. Findings from this study suggest that sexual deviance should be studied within non-sex offender populations. Findings also suggest that the construct of sexual deviance may be more accurately represented by a scale that assesses a combination of sexual interests comprised of various levels of deviant sexual interests. |
